


Snakes and Roses

by dreambeanie



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Archie Andrews is a Good Friend, Better Than Canon, Betty Cooper & Kevin Keller Friendship, Betty Cooper & Toni Topaz Friendship, Betty Cooper Needs a Hug, Canon Rewrite, F/M, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jughead Jones & Veronica Lodge Friendship, Jughead Jones Needs a Hug, This Is STUPID, Toni Topaz is a Good Friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-23 01:36:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21312016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreambeanie/pseuds/dreambeanie
Summary: After a fateful night at the Whyte Wyrm, Betty decides it's time she flips the script. Maybe the serpents aren't that bad, and maybe she won't only be joining to protect Jughead.orJughead has serious trauma and issues that he needs time to solve alone where Betty goes on an investigation saga.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper/Veronica Lodge/Jughead Jones, Archie Andrews/Jughead Jones, Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones/Toni Topaz, Jughead Jones/Veronica Lodge
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	1. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

__

When Betty finished the dance, she stood still on the stage as FP covered her up with his jacket. She hadn't really taken in everything until she was done, that's when she noticed everyone's eyes on her, but it's not like she cared. She only cared about one person. Jughead, who was clearly in shock, maybe even angry. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were glossy, staring right back at hers. Betty bit her lip and quietly stepped off the stage.

~.~.~.~.~

Jughead looked over at Toni for a second, who was smirking as if she was up to something sketchy. Her eyes almost said, _"Your girlfriend really did the dance to join the serpents, and you can't do anything about it." _Or maybe her eyes weren't saying ~anything~ and he was just mocking himself. He didn't know, nor did he care, he just wanted to deal with it later and pay attention to his dad, Serpent King who finally decided to step down. "I'm not stepping down!" 

_"I'm not stepping down." _

The words echoed in his ears. _What? Why not? _His brain immediately went back to everything he did wrong. And then it hit him. _The drugs. Penny. _It was his fault. His father wouldn't get to go straight because of _HIM. _His father then descended down the stairs and rambled to him about how "he told him not to" and how much it "broke his heart", kissing his forehead and immediately taking a swig of liquor after. _This is your fault, _he thought.

~.~.~.~.~

Betty stood outside the Wyrm, waiting for Jughead to come out of the bar. She assumed he was probably talking to his dad, because even she was shocked when he said he wasn't stepping down. Jughead was probably blaming himself (although it wasn't his fault). Finally, after what felt like decades, she spotted him leaving the bar, eyes threatening to overflow with tears, but holding still. "Jug.." she muttered as he walked over to her. She didn't know why she was saying his name. _Was she trying to comfort him? How does that even work? _"I don't- I don't know what i'm doing anymore.." he mumbles, almost under his breath. But she heard him.

"What is it, Jug, what's wrong?" she asked, feeling stupid immediately after. _What's wrong?? Isn't it obvious, Betty?! _"Was it the dance?" she added. "It's..everything. Also, yeah. Why would you do that?" There was a slight quiver in his voice and she wasn't really sure if it was sadness or frustration. "I..I wanted to be a part of this. I wanted to protect you." Then, he immediately interjected. "You..don't need to do that. Even Archie knew when to cut bait," he takes a slight breath after that sentance, because as much as he liked to pretend it wasn't affecting him, it was. Archie had lost hope in him, at least from what it seems. He just expected other people to start dropping from his life until everyone from his past was gone. "I already ruined my father's chance of going straight, I don't need to destroy you too. Can't you see? I'm just..wrecking everything. I'm wrecking everyone, I don't need you here when things starts getting worse." 

The look on her face wasn't shock, but worry. She was worried about him, and everything he was saying about himself wasn't helping her concerns the slightest bit. "Jughead this isn't your fault. He's still..figuring things out. We can deal with this together, I swear-" she was talking quite firmly until he cut her off. "No, mm-m. Not together. If you stay, I don't know if I can protect you anymore. I _can't_ let you get hurt." She noticed his eyes say "_Please don't_ _make this harder for me" , _but she didn't care. She absolutely didn't care. "That's not your job. Nor is it your decision to make."

_'Why won't she just give up on me?_' he thought. It was only a matter of time, why couldn't she do it sooner rather than later. "Actually. Yeah, it is." Her worry then turned into anger. "When are we gonna stop pushing eachother away?" she questioned, shoving him slightly (to prove her point somehow). His eyes looked darker that usual, and she _knew_ that it wasn't because of the dull lighting. "Until it sticks." 

That's when her heart crumbled into pieces. She always thought they'd end up together, and that they weren't just high-school sweethearts, but he clearly thought otherwise. She noticed his face start to soften at the realization of his words, it was too late though. "I don't want to bring you down with me." 

He started to walk away, but as mad as she was, she couldn't let him leave her. She pulled him back by his jacket and turned him around to look at him, caressing his face. "Just _TALK _to me. Tell me what happened!" she says it as a demand, although he wasn't going to respond how she wanted him to. "Please," his voice trembles. "Go home," he says again, looking straight into her eyes. And she lets him go, immediately regretting it. 

Jughead had just lost the last piece of light he had left, and he didn't really mind. This is who he was meant to be, whether he liked it or not. When he turned around again, he allowed the tear he was holding in for so long to fall as he swiftly wiped it off.

**There goes a final chance. **

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my first fanfic, so it may be a bit boring and filled with filler parts, but i'll keep trying to improve! thank you for reading :)


	2. Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Betty watched as Jughead walked away from her, and as much as she wanted to run up to him and tell him not to leave her, she knew it was said and done. She took a deep breath as a tear rolled down her cheek and slowly started to sob in her hands.

Stupidly, she made the decision to call her mom for a ride home. _'Bad idea'_, she told herself; her mom would probably keep asking questions about Jughead and how she expected to join the serpents at that point. She took a long sigh, trying to hold her second round of tears in place.

~.~.~.~.~

"_I love you, Ronnie."_

Four words. Four simple words that ruined everything. She knew that she wouldn't be able to say it back, so it killed her when he decided to confess his love to her after a night well spent at the Pembroke. _'You'll break his heart', _she reminded herself constantly, having moments where she almost said it, but chose not to at the last second.

Veronica sat in the back of the car as Andre started to head home, as she had just told him to. She then started to bawl her eyes out, quietly; she didn't want to catch Andre's attention. It hurt her that she couldn't say it, because she knew that she felt it; she could barely spend a day without him, he made her want to become a better person, a better girlfriend.

When she looked out the car window in a failed attempt to look for Archie, she saw a blonde girl, on her knees, sorrowing by the pavement. "Andre, stop the car," she politely demanded, getting out of the car carefully and going over to the girl. Wait- Was that.._Betty_? She started to walk faster towards her and bent down. "B.."

Betty looked up at her, confirming her suspicions. "Betty, what happened?" she asked with pure, unfiltered, concern in her voice. "It's Jug..he-" her breath hitched as she started to sob again. Veronica brang her up off of her knees and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back and whispering, "It'll be okay, b. Everything will work itself out."

_Was she lying to herself, though? _She thought things would work themselves out with Archie and clearly, they didn't. Shaking her head slightly, she pushed her heartbreak aside and let Betty into the car, assuming she didn't have a ride home since it was 12 am and she was crying by the pavement. Veronica looked at Betty, who was trying to calm herself down. "You wanna go to Pop's? On me." 

~.~.~.~.~

Veronica sat across from Betty in one of the booths, examining her to make sure she wasn't still crying. "So..what happened?" she asked softly as to not stress her out by interrogating her. Betty sighed as she took a slight sip of her vanilla milkshake. "He broke up with me. He just.._decided_ that the serpents weren't for me and left," she didn't sound anxious or stressed anymore, she sounded fuming. She was _angry. _Clearly, she didn't expect him to just dump her on the spot and at least listen to her, but no, she was wrong and he ended up leaving her anyway. "He said that he was 'wrecking' everything and that me being with him when he _loses his mind _is a bad idea," her voice cracked slightly, but she didn't think about it and stayed silent after finishing her sentence. 

Veronica looked at Betty, who was tapping her fingers on the table. "Look, B, as much as I hate to admit it, maybe he's right. The serpents have really changed him, is he really the same man you fell in love with?" Betty looks up at her raven haired friend, obviously not expecting that question. "Maybe not, but I still love him. I still want to be with him, and I know he still wants to be with me," she admits, not thinking twice about her reply. 

Veronica marveled at the sight of her friend. She didn't care that he changed, and she still wanted him to hers, because she _loved _him and whole-heartedly believed he loved her back. She sighed and looked down, still trying to push her own problems away and focus on Betty, who immediately noticed (of course). "V? Everything good?" she questioned, putting a hand out for her. Veronica looked up at her and let a threatening tear fall. "I'm sorry, Betty, it's just- Archie and I broke up," she sniffled slightly then looked up at the ceiling, attempting to hold the rest of her tears in. Betty gasped slightly and held Veronica's hand from across the table. "God, I'm so sorry. I've been bothering you with all of my shit and you've just been listening to me complain," she apologized profusely, tightening her grip on Veronica's hand. She smiled softly and chuckled. "It's okay, I swear. I needed a distraction anyway." 

Betty's expression softened as she looked back at Veronica. "I should've noticed," she argued, quickly getting interrupted by her phone ringing. "Shit, it's my mom. I should go," she exclaimed, getting up and hugging her friend, "I love you, bye!" 

"Bye, B," she said, waving as the blonde left the diner. Veronica sat alone, and looked over at the door as the bell rang. _At least if Archie didn't love her anymore, Betty always would. _

**That love would never fade. **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really trying to improve and learn new vocabulary so my writing is more interesting as time goes on! thank you for reading 🖤


	3. So It Goes...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this ain't really a summary just wanted to say that YES these titles are taylor swift songs and no i won't apologize for having taste :)

Love. What a confusing topic; love is like energy, it never fades, but it can move to a different area. Energy can't be conjured up, it was always there...exactly like love. 

"Jones...Jug? JUGHEAD!" Toni yelled, making him jolt up from his laptop. "Were you even listening to me?" He scoffed as to ignore her question. "Of course you weren't. I mean what did I expect," she joked, trying to somehow lighten up the mood, which he wasn't having. "Come on, Jones. What the hell even happened to you? You've been down all week." '_Nothing happened, Toni,' _he'd always say. He felt guilty lying to her, especially when she genuinely cared about him and chose to ask about how he was doing. "Nothin-" he started to say, before she interrupted him in a heartbeat, "Don't. Don't play the 'nothing happened' card. You're clearly not okay," she insisted, clearly worried about him. "I swear, I'm fi-" she then put a hand on his mouth. "_I'm fine_ is always a call for help. What happened, Jughead?" 

Staying silent for a minute, he just looked at her. He really, really, didn't want to tell her. She'd scold him, and tell him he was being stupid, because he _was_ being stupid. He let his dream girl go to "protect her" when clearly, she can take it. He wasn't lying when he said that he hated himself for it, but being overprotective was just..._who he was. _He sighed and finally gave up. "I broke up with Betty." 

~.~.~.~.~

"You WHAT?!" she cried, in complete shock, which was exactly what he thought her reaction would be. "I broke up with her," the words barely affected him anymore, because he'd already had his fair share of mental breakdowns on the subject and decided to just push his emotions down instead. "What do you mean '_you broke up with her'?!" _Toni interrogated. "You know what. Never mind, that's too difficult for _you_ to answer. Why the _HELL _would you break up with Betty Cooper?" Jughead rolled his eyes at her. "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you," he admitted. Her face went from confused to guilty; she knew that he was a dumbass and that he shouldn't have broken up with her, but somehow, she knew she was making it worse for him.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely, "I just don't understand why you would break up with her." _He asks himself that everyday. _"She wanted to join the serpents." Toni's face then dropped.

~.~.~.~.~

_Oh God. He has to be kidding, right? If she caused this break up, she'd never be able to forgive herself. _Toni remembered it vividly, that night. Betty had come to the Wyrm, and while she assumed Betty was there to see Jughead, it turned out she wanted to see _her. _Of course, she was shocked. The last interaction her and Betty had was horrible and Toni figured she wouldn't want to interact with her again. Apparently, she was wrong. "Hey..Toni," she had said awkwardly, clearly not well acquainted with the place Toni called home. She had looked over to her, not completely in "shock", more so questioning why she was there to see _her. _"Betty Cooper. Fancy seeing you here," she thought she was pretending to be a Northsider (which she later found to be extremely stupid). "Skip the prissy introduction. I want to talk to you," Betty'd snapped at her, which is what Toni knew she'd eventually do after their messy first impression.

"Calm down, Blondie," she'd joked, "What do you need? A drink? You sure need one." _So that's why they had a rough relationship, huh? _Toni knew it was her fault they weren't friends; she used sardonic humor to forget about her problems and mask her pain. She knew she wasn't nice to Betty, but she couldn't help herself. Northsiders riled her up, they always would, even if Betty wasn't part of the stereotype and clearly respected Southsiders. "No. I don't need a drink. I actually wanted to ask you about something..." she'd stayed quiet for a split second and then proceeded to continue, "If one wanted to join the serpents, how would they go about it?" Toni's mouth had gaped open as she started to chuckle like an idiot. "_YOU _wanna be a serpent?!" _Why was she asking that? _She'd already assumed that Betty would eventually miss Jughead too much so she'd join to spend more time with him.

"Serpent adjacent, maybe?" Betty clearly hadn't been offended by her tone, which Toni honestly admired. _It means she's confident. _"Why?" Toni had wondered, she sort of knew why, but she wanted to hear it out of Betty. "I wanna keep an eye on Jughead. I can't bare with the image of him getting engulfed in the darkness of being in a gang." It looked like she would've said '_I love him', _but she stopped herself. "You know I'm always keeping an eye on him, right?" she hadn't wanted to come off as, god forbid, _liking _Jughead, because she didn't. There always was a chance to like him, or kiss him, but she wouldn't dare. She wasn't attracted to him, and that was that. When she kissed him that night after the Gauntlet, it wasn't because she had the chance to '_steal' _him from Betty while they were broken up. She was..simply helping out a friend who was falling into a deep depression. She loved him, but no, she didn't want him. "I know, I know it's just..I need to be here with him."

Toni had nodded and understood where Betty was coming from. "I understand. I just don't think the initiation is your..._cup of tea._" She wanted to be truthful. The serpent initiation was, in one word, gross. Disgusting. At least that's how Toni would describe it. She'd then heard Birdie, one of the older serpents, cackle like a maniac. "What's so funny, Birdie?" she'd asked in a _'matter of fact'-ly _tone. "Nothin', Pinkie, but I think we both know that if she wants to join the Serpents, she has to do the dance," Toni couldn't see her, but she knew that Birdie was smirking. Betty then had turned around to look at the strippers dancing. "That's the initiation?" Toni had nodded, although Betty wasn't looking at her. "Some dumb, sexist tradition I tried to get outlawed, but old habits die hard," she'd said, and with a tone that Betty would describe as hurt and frustrated at the same time. "I can do it," Betty'd confirmed, still distracted by the women dancing on the poles. Toni had pushed it off as some claim that would be erased from the blonde's mind in a matter of weeks, but she was wrong. _Very wrong. _

_~.~.~.~.~_

"Toni?" Jughead said in a slow tone, looking straight at her. That's the moment she wished the ground would swallow her up; he'd _hate _her, which she definitely wouldn't be able to deal with. She snapped out of it and looked back at him, his blueish-green eyes flickering with concern. "Betty. She came to me, and she wanted to join the Serpents. I thought it was just a temporary thing, and that she'd forget about it, but I was wrong," she admitted, her voice getting more worried as she went on. Jughead's face fell and he went silent. "And what exactly did you tell her?" he wasn't interrogating her, he just needed to know how she went about it. "I didn't...tell her anything specifically. I told her the initiation wasn't exactly what she might've thought it would be, but I think Birdie's the one who put the idea in her head."

~.~.~.~.~

He glanced at her; brows furrowed, eyes worried. _Did she think he was going to be mad at her? _He easily could've been, if he wasn't...Jughead. Betty had the freedom of joining the Serpents, of course she did. He didn't control her, she was her own person. It's not like Toni pressured her into joining. Betty _wanted _to join, and she would've with or without Toni's help. "Topaz. I'm not mad at you." She let out a huge sigh of relief as she ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "You're an idiot for breaking up with her, Jones," she said, a chuckle coming out of her while speaking. "She can protect herself, she's stronger than she seems." He was caught off guard by her hug and everything she was saying to him, but he returned the hug. "I know."

**He's the one who isn't strong enough.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally, jughead's point of view!! i had a lot of fun writing this part 🖤


	4. All You Had To Do Was Stay

2 weeks. 2 weeks since Jughead broke up with Betty. In retrospect, it didn't seem like a very long time, but to her, it felt like _forever_. Forever since she'd kissed him, or hugged him, or even talked to him. She'd been out with Veronica and Archie a few times, who got back together a few days after Christmas. Everytime she looked over at Archie, he'd look away; they'd kissed while on the quest to find the black hood, which eventually, they did, but Betty was afraid that kiss had ruined their friendship. For God's sake, he couldn't even _LOOK_ at her, and it hurt so much, everytime he'd avoided her glances and she'd have to pretend she didn't even look at him. Yes, Veronica knew about it, but it was crystal clear that she didn't care, she loved both of them through and through, that would never change. Not even a black hood prompted kiss.

No matter how much Betty wanted to pull Archie aside and talk to him privately about the kiss, she couldn't do it. She'd rather pretend it didn't happen than address it. _That was the Cooper way of dealing with stuff...Don't. _Speaking of Coopers..

"Elizabeth! Why in god's name is that God forsaken snake and his motorcycle in front of our house?" Alice exclaimed, and although it took Betty a while to break down what she said, she eventually figured out what she was talking about. "Jughead?" Alice gave her a look as if to say "_yes, Jug-head. Who else would I be talking about?_" Betty pondered for a split second about why he would be there, but she pushed her thoughts aside and went outside to talk to him...for the first time in 2 weeks.

She marveled at the sight of him for a split second; his hair messy because of the helmet he was just wearing, his eyes piercing right through her, and his jacket. _His serpent jacket. _The serpent jacket she wouldn't get to wear. Then she remembered that she was _mad _at him. She was mad at him for breaking her heart and not letting her protect him. Finally, she spoke. "Jughead..what are you doing here?" Her voice was cold, but not as cold as she'd hoped. Still, it was obvious it has an effect on him as his expression faltered. "I just wanted to.." _apologize. Please say apologize. _"-give you this." _Shit. _She then watched him take out a neatly wrapped present. "Merry belated Christmas," he said, giving her an almost hopeless smile. _He'd finally given up on everything, huh? _She took the gift and gave it a second glance; it looked like some sort of.._book? _"Thank you, Jug.." she let the nickname slip past her tongue, but when she realized what she said it was too late to take it back. "I actually..had something for you too." He gave her a questioning look as she ran inside of her house and quickly came out with an enormous box, passing it over to him. "Damn, Cooper," he teased with a chuckle, looking up at her bright green eyes. 

She softly smiled back at him as she went inside her house, slowly closing the door. Alice was no where to be found, so she proceeded to fall the the ground behind the door, gift in hand. She held back her tears, instead ripping up the gift wrapping. _Beloved. _She'd talked to him about the book for weeks and obliviously thought he wasn't listening. Tears started to prickle at her eyes, swiftly rolling down her cheek after reading the note he had taped to the wrapping paper. "_Beloved for my beloved._" She wished she could run out of her house and go to him, kiss him, tell him she loved him, but instead of doing what she knew she _couldn't _do, she sat there, sobbing on the floor. 

~.~.~.~.~

_He really went over to her house to give her a present. How crazy does he have to be to do that? _Even he couldn't believe how far he'd go just to _see_ her. He headed back to his trailer, opening up the present she gave him, which was quite a gigantic present to give to your ex. _'She probably bought it before we broke up..' _he told himself, as that was what he wanted her to think of the gift he gave to her, although he'd bought it after their breakup. 

_A typewriter. _Betty got him a typewriter, which he just sat there and looked at for what would probably be hours on end. He definitely didn't deserve it, he knew that, and he was low-key considering going back there and giving it back. _You can't give back a Christmas present. _He knew he would never stop using it before even _touching_ the damn thing, and honestly, he didn't mind. 

~.~.~.~.~

Veronica sat in Pop's, quietly sipping her coffee. She was relieved, after all, that she could control her emotions towards Betty and Archie's.._kiss._ She hated thinking about it, but she loved both of them, and she couldn't let it effect her. Betty was already going through enough, and a fight between them for a _guy, _of all things, would make it worse for her. It hurt her, but she couldn't hurt Betty. She heard the bell ring and looked up, seeing Jughead walking into the diner, black leather jacket and all. Then, Veronica's mouth had a mind of it's own. "Jones!" she called out, putting a hand over her mouth immediately after because she didn't expect herself to say it. '_What am I doing?' _she asked herself before motioning to him to come to her table. 

"Veronica. To what do I owe the honor?" he said in a clear sarcastic tone which she grinned at. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Sit," she ordered, used to bossing people around. The look on his face was a look of pure confusion, but he obliged and settled into the seat. She then put on an overdone, fake smile. "Betty and Archie kissed," she let it out casually, trying her best to hide the pain in her voice. Clearly though, it was harder for him to hide his own pain; his face fell and his brows furrowed. _Was he confused or just hurt? _

"What?" She could tell he wasn't really..asking per se, more trying to make sure he was hearing her correctly. "I'm sorry, Jug," she'd never really used the nickname his other friends used exclusively, but she felt it was the right time to, as to make him feel less alone and that he _does _have a friend. _She sure would've wanted that at the time. _He looked up from the ground and back at her. "You- You don't have to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong, hell, it's probably worse for you." _Was it, though? Was it worse for her?_

From what Veronica's heard, Jughead's always loved Betty, but he had to watch her fall in love with his best friend, for what? 10 years? He finally had her after those years of torture, and then he let her go, and what makes it burn even more is it was _his __fault. _That's just from an outside perspective. She wondered how broken he was in that very moment. 

"Did he tell you, or did you find out?" he asked in what seemed like concern...for _her. _"He told me, which I appreciated. He didn't wait for someone to find out about it and spread it as a rumor." Jughead nodded, still trying to digest everything she just told him. "Jughead. Go talk to her," she convinced, just wanting to fix things between him and Betty; she just wanted things to go back to _normal. _Just them sitting in a booth at Pop's being kids, without awkward stares or silences. "I can't. I'm just trying to keep her safe," he said, his voice hoarse. He was _scared, _which Veronica could see. He was hurt, scared and most of all, he was heartbroken. 

"She can protect herself.." she pointed out, and he knew she was right. He'd already heard Toni repeat it to him, but it wasn't about _her._ If she got hurt, he knew that he would blame himself for it. Even if it wasn't his fault. "Yeah, I know. I SWEAR, I know!" he exclaimed, as if he was _done, _which Veronica of all people understood. "Look at me, Jones," she said in an almost threatening tone, causing him to roughly look back at her.

"You're an _IDIOT,_" she was harsh, because that's what he needed. He needed someone to be straight forward with him, and that person would normally be Betty. "You and I both know that. So be honest with yourself. Why did you break up with her?" she repeated the question that she'd asked Betty 2 weeks prior. "I already told you-" he started to say, before she interrupted him. "I'm not having it. Tell me the truth." He then snapped back at her, "Because I'm a mess, okay?!" His face filled with pain when he realized what he just said. "I'm a mess, and I'm becoming a terrible person. I don't want her to see me like this, and I definitely don't want her to be there when things get worse," he said, less angry and more just..._broken. _

Veronica's expression softened, _she'd gotten Jughead Jones to be vulnerable with her. _It felt less of a success when she realized how much pain and guilt he was carrying over his shoulders. "Jug.." she began to speak, before he interrupted. "Look, this isn't your problem to deal with. I'm sorry," he got up, but before he left, he put a 10 dollar bill on a table and walked off. Veronica was more than capable of paying for herself, so the action seemed eerie. She didn't comment though; she let him leave, leaning back in her seat as the diner bell rang with his exit. 

**Damn it, Jones. **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry there isn't much bughead yet, but i want to build a foundation first and have friendships to build up the story rather than having the story revolve around just them. thank you for reading 🖤


	5. I Wish You Would

"Betty," she heard someone say behind her. She turned around immediately, without even shutting her locker. "Are you okay?" asked Jughead. Wait, _Jughead? What's he doing here? _She rubbed her eyes and looked in front of her. _Archie. _"Betty.." he repeated, slightly raising an eyebrow at her. "You good?" '_No, I just hallucinated my ex-boyfriend', _she wanted to say, but she just nodded instead, trying to ignore her vision. "Can we talk?" Archie asked cautiously.

_Talk? Talk about what? _"Oh," she sighed as she remembered what he was talking about. _The kiss. _"Yeah, Arch, of course." He then glanced at her sincerely, as if he was saying _"thank you" _without actually opening his mouth. "I'm sorry...about everything. I like to believe that I'm a good friend when I'm not." She gave him a muddled look; of course he was a great friend. "Archie-" she started to say, before he continued, "I can't believe I would do that to Jughead."

_Oh. He was talking about Jughead. _"Arch..Jughead has nothing to do with this. He's the one who decided to break up with me. He shouldn't expect me to stay single for him." The redhead shook his head at her and started to speak again, "It's not about that. Sure, he broke up with you, but he still loves you." In that moment, she understood why Archie was feeling so guilty; he knew that Jughead still loved her, so it didn't matter if they were together or not, which is exactly what Betty felt for Veronica.

She stayed quiet for a split second, her guilt about kissing Archie slowly spreading throughout her body, almost exactly like the moment the kiss happened. "God, Archie! Why did you have to come and talk about this? I was just trying to ignore it, pretend it never happened, it wasn't working, but at least I could hide how guilty I felt about all of this!" she yelled harshly, letting out a deep breath after her revelation. Archie didn't seem fazed though. It was as if he expected her to finally burst after everything.

"Stop bottling up all of your emotions. Of course you feel guilty. So do I, but all it is...is a mistake, which you're allowed to make," he said truthfully. Betty looked at him again as she let out a sigh, nodding at what he said. '_You're allowed to make mistakes,' _her conscious repeated. _There was another mistake she could make in mind._

_~.~.~.~.~_

Snakes, leather jackets and people who pretend that they know what they're doing with their lives. Chaos, _right? _Jughead surely thought so, but the Serpents were his family, and not just by blood. They made his mundane life just a little bit more interesting. Slowly, he walked into the Whyte Wyrm, somehow having a terrible feeling about _something, _whatever it was.

As he entered, he noticed everyone's eyes on him. He carefully eyed everyone in the bar, trying to figure out why everyone was staring at him. "What?" he questioned, still looking around the place. He then noticed Tall Boy, his father's right hand, standing in the middle of the crowd with an unbareable smirk on his face. Jughead raised an eyebrow at the man, almost threateningly. "What is it, Tall Boy? Where's my dad?" He'd noticed that his dad was nowhere to be seen, which was unusual since his dad was officially rejoining the serpents (_unfortunately_). Tall Boy cackled, throwing his head back. "He's gone, boy."

The words hit him like a shockwave, but he stopped himself from panicking, instead getting closer to him in a menacing manner. "What's that supposed to mean?" The older man in front of him gave him a snarky glare and started to speak. "It means he's gone. He left, he's..._on the run._"

Jughead didn't realize he was holding his breath until he let out a deep sigh at Tall Boy's revelation. "From who?" he muttered in a low tone. "No one," admitted Tall Boy with a light chuckle. Jughead looked up from the floor and straight into the other man's eyes gravely, suddenly switching from shocked to furious. He didn't need context to understand what was going on; Tall Boy ran his dad out of town (maybe telling him that the cops caught him working for Penny), because he wanted to take his place as the Serpent King. It was simple, a classic gambit, but it was just a smidge over plain _cruel _in Jughead's mind. FP was his only family left in Riverdale, and for him to just..._take _his dad away_, _like he meant nothing. That's what made him furious. 

Suddenly, something overcame him. He lost all rational thoughts in his mind and did the most logical thing that came to him. Without a second thought, he pushed Tall Boy against the wall behind him, putting an arm on his neck as to stop him from moving. Instead of saying anything, he just went on instinct, punching the shit out of him in pure rage. He didn't know what he was doing, he was just...doing it, just forgetting that there was an entire crowd of people circled around him, watching his every move.

Jughead heard the door creak open, but he couldn't stop himself, even just to look at around. What sounded like a soft gasp was what he heard after the door shut behind whoever entered the bar, which wasn't unusual, since what he was doing was sure to garner a few exclamations. He made out the sound of thick heels running towards him, feeling a hand on his shoulder immediately after. "Jones," he picked up, the voice sounded familiar although his brain wasn't working properly. "Jughead!" the voice asserted, making him stop what he was doing and turn his head. 

"Toni?" he said it as less of a question and more of a statement, but with a questiong tone. "What the hell are you doing?!" she interrogated, pulling him off of Tall Boy. He directed his glance back at her, but remained speachless; he had no idea what he was doing, therefore, he wasn't able to answer her question. She groaned slightly, before grabbing him by the arm. "You're coming with me," she affirmed, dragging him out of the bar without another word.

**No one told him not to punch. **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so...thoughts? please start commenting with ideas or recommendations!!!  
also, i'm sorry i haven't updated recently, it's just been a bit hard to write all the time.

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fanfic!! i really hope y'all like it :)  
i really tried my best and i hope i'll improve as time goes on.


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